


i like it best when you smile

by Minirainbow



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff, Momo is mentioned, confident gay mina in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 13:44:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20908631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minirainbow/pseuds/Minirainbow
Summary: Jihyo is really tired of parties.Tired of being stranded in a strangers apartment searching for Sana, surrounded by drunk people who can't hear a word she's saying.Thank god Mina is just one wrong door away.





	i like it best when you smile

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a short oneshot I wrote for @minasmanager (on twt) as a birthday present!!  
Happy birthday Marie, hope you had a great day and thank you for everything!  
Hope you enjoy! (once again this is Un-BETA'd)

Parties had never really been her scene anyway, but right now Jihyo just couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't belong. She didn't know anyone there apart from Sana, who had disappeared into the crowds over an hour ago having yet to resurface, and people were starting to get far too boisterous for her liking. But she was too broke to afford an uber by herself and this part of town was way too sketchy for her to walk back to her apartment safely; thus Jihyo was kind of stuck.

At this point she couldn’t even really remember why she’d even agreed to go anyway, Sana had spent well over half an hour trying to convince her it’d be fun and that she wouldn’t regret going; made seemingly empty promises that she wouldn’t disappear, would stay with her the whole night and wouldn’t get too drunk either. It had taken Sana an hour to be dragged away by someone, by Jihyo’s side one second and then gone the next. And if how she’d ignored all of Jihyo’s texts was anything to go by, it seemed extremely unlikely Jihyo would see her again before the next morning.

Any attempt to try to talk to someone new, befriend someone under the guise of meeting new people, but her true intentions being finding a place for her to crash just for the night, was fruitless at this point. It was nearing 2am and everyone that was still there was too drunk to understand a word she was saying; being sober around a bunch of drunk people was supposed to be entertaining, as Sana had promised her, but she just felt really alone and frustrated.

Even if people weren’t so drunk, she doubted they would’ve been able to hear her anyway; Jihyo could barely hear herself think over the sound of the heavy bass ripping through the eardrums. Everything about this night was unbearable, but the ridiculous volume of the music was making it worse than Jihyo imagined was possible. It truly was a miracle the police hadn’t shown up yet, if she was living in this building there was no doubt she would’ve filed over a hundred noise complaints by now.

Trying to navigate through this strangers apartment was far more difficult than it should’ve been, the place was huge with seemingly endless corridors and even more rooms. It felt like the sort of place that belonged in a high class neighbourhood, one that would cost obscene amounts of money, not one like this. The place was a mess, empty cans and cups littered the floor, the carpet was wet with what she could only assume was booze, and all Jihyo could think about was how much she pitied the people who would have to clean it all up in the morning, every corner she turned, every room she peered into had a new mess.

A hand clamped down on her shoulder and Jihyo nearly screamed in terror, she turned around ready to shout at whoever it was until she locked eyes with an  _ extremely _ inebriated Sana. She was so relieved to see a familiar face, she didn’t even notice there was someone awkwardly hovering behind Sana.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Jihyo shouted over the music, frowning at Sana angrily. “I’ve looked everywhere for you!”

“Settle down, no need to get so mad.” Sana teased, poking Jihyo’s forehead with the biggest shit eating grin on her face. “I was looking for you too, silly! I just had to find someone first, a friend I want to introduce you to.”

“No, Sana we’re not doing this again.” Jihyo sighed, shaking her head at Sana frantically. 

This happened at every single party Sana dragged her to, she’d start bringing over random ‘friends she wanted Jihyo to meet’ with every intention of setting her up with them. Every party she’d persuade Jihyo to swap phone numbers with whoever it was, and every single time it’d end terribly; whether it be them getting angry when Jihyo inevitably shot down their advances, or them just being aloof and never replying to her in the first place. No matter how much she pleaded with Sana to stop, criticise how terrible she was at matchmaking, it had yet to work.

“Jihyo, this is my friend Yerin from dance class. I figured you too might like to get to know each other, you both really like music so.” Sana gestured between the two of them, blatantly ignoring how Jihyo was eyeing her angrily.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Sana talks about you a lot.” Yerin chimed in, bowing slightly as she smiled at her shyly. If this wasn’t the hundredth time Sana had tried to set her up with someone, Jihyo might’ve found it endearing.

“Nice to meet you too, Sana can I have a quick word?” Jihyo smiled at Yerin kindly, before shooting daggers at Sana.

“Of course, what’s up?” Sana shrugged nonchalantly, clearly unaware Jihyo wasn’t happy. Jihyo pulled her to the side, far enough away from Yerin that she was out of earshot, and glowered at Sana tiredly.

“I thought I told you I didn’t want you setting me up with anymore of your ‘friends’?” Jihyo hissed, sighing exhaustedly when Sana gasped in surprise. “I’ve told you  _ countless  _ times that I don’t want you to keep playing matchmaker.”

“First of all, I have no recollection of that so I can’t be certain that’s true.” Sana slurred her words slightly, Jihyo rolled her eyes; it was near impossible to have a conversation with drunk Sana. “Secondly, I don’t know what you’re so grumpy about. I set you up with  _ great  _ people.”

“Sana, the last girl you set me up with would not stop sending me pictures of her plushies; I had to double check she was actually 21 and not a little kid.” Jihyo pointed out. “You set me up with really weird people, it always ends badly.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Momo is a really great girl you should give her a chance!” Sana encouraged her, shoving Jihyo’s shoulder lightly. “And Yerin, trust me Yerin is a really nice and  _ normal _ girl.”

“We’re not having this conversation right now, you’re way too drunk to see my point of view.” Jihyo groaned, massaging her temples tiredly. “Look, I’m going to the toilet and then I’m going home. You’re more than welcome to join me, but I just need to get out of here. I hate parties.”

Jihyo turned away from the pouting Sana, walking off in the direction of the bathroom. The corridor was lined with around what felt like endless doors, any of which could potentially be the bathroom. There were few things more annoying than when the host didn’t label the bathroom door. A light coming out from underneath one of the doors was a promising sign, it was the only thing that made it stand out from the others.

It took 5 seconds after Jihyo pushed the door open for her to realise it absolutely  _ not  _ the bathroom door.

“Shit, this isn’t the bathroom.” Jihyo scolded herself quietly, eyeing the girl sat on the bed in the corner of the room apologetically.

“The bathroom is 2 doors to the left.” The girl answered her calmly, before turning her attention back to her phone.

“I’m really sorry, this was the only room with the light on and the door wasn’t locked…” Jihyo paused for a second, realising what she’d just said. “Wait, why wasn’t the door locked?”

“I don’t have a lock on my door, none of the doors, apart from the front door, have locks.” The girl explained coolly, surprisingly unphased by Jihyo’s presence. “One of the reasons the rent was so cheap.”

“Wait you live here?” Jihyo asked, not moving from her place in the doorway. “Why aren’t you out enjoying the party?”

“Parties aren’t really my scene, but my roommates  _ love _ them and apparently we have the perfect apartment for hosting.” The girl shrugged, her tone ever so slightly bitter and sarcastic. “I usually just stay in my room whilst they’re going on.”

“I don’t blame you, parties aren’t my idea of fun either.” Jihyo agreed, chuckling to herself. “This really isn't how I’d planned to spend my Saturday night.”

“So why are you here? You had the option to stay home and do what you wanted, so why come here?” The girl inquired curiously, setting her phone down to give Jihyo her full attention.

“My friend basically dragged me out of our apartment after promising to not ditch me and hang out the whole night.” Jihyo replied, moving to lean against the doorframe. “To no one’s surprise, she did not keep her promise.”

“They never do, that’s definitely on you for believing her.” The girl teased her, smiling slightly. “Are you gonna keep standing in the doorway, or are you going to come in or go to the bathroom?”

“Am I allowed? I just figured I’d stay here until you told me to fuck off.” Jihyo giggled, moving further into the girls room and allowing the door to close behind her. “And I don’t actually need to use the bathroom that bad.”

“I was tempted to tell you to ‘fuck off’, but you don’t  _ seem  _ too drunk so I think I’ll let you stay for a little bit.” The girl quipped, giggling quietly. “Why are you still here if you hate it here so much? Why not just go home?”

“I was going to, but I couldn’t get ahold of my friend and I didn’t want to just leave without knowing she was safe. Plus, uber is expensive as hell and I was hoping I’d be able to split one with her to save money.” Jihyo explained, perching on the desk chair opposite the girls bed. “Thankfully I saw her a few minutes ago, so I was actually about to leave but then I got coerced into this strangers bedroom.”

“Very stupid of you, for all you know I could be a dangerous murderer.” The girl scolded her jokingly, leaning against her headboard. “I’m not, by the way.”

“Don’t worry I trust you’re not a threat, you don’t look like the kind of person to pose any kind of threat to me.” Jihyo chuckled. “I feel like if I knew your name, then I could be absolutely certain though.”

“I’m Mina.” Mina giggled shyly.

“Cute.” Jihyo smiled at her warmly. “I’m Jihyo, thank you for saving me from the party.”

“You’re welcome, to be honest I was getting pretty bored cooped up in my room, so thank you for alleviating that boredom slightly.” Mina hummed contentedly, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them.

“Only slightly? Am I  _ that  _ boring?” Jihyo pouted, relishing in the laugh that passed Mina’s lips and the way her smile seemed plastered to her face.

“I’ve only known you like 5 minutes,  _ Jihyo. _ ” Mina rebutted easily. “Don’t get too overconfident with you entertainment abilities just yet.”

Jihyo smiled at Mina softly, unable to take her eyes off the gummy smile that had graced Mina’s features and stolen Jihyo’s full attention. There was just something so calming about her, perhaps it was because she was the first sober person Jihyo had spoken to in the last 2 hours - but it just felt like it was more than that. She’d known Mina nearing 10 minutes, but it felt like she’d known her for ages. Had it not been for the fact she knew nothing about the girl beyond her first name, she was sure she could’ve convinced people they’d known each other for years.

“How can I change your mind then?” Jihyo questioned casually, raising a curious eyebrow at Mina. “Is there a way I can make you even less bored?”

“Do you want to play Mario Kart?” Mina chirped up excitedly, it really shouldn’t have been so cute and there really shouldn’t have been butterflies in Jihyo’s stomach when she saw how excited Mina was. “I have my Nintendo Switch, we can play a couple rounds to pass the time, if you want?”

“This feels like a trap, you bring it up so casually just to completely wreck me and make me look bad.” Jihyo watched Mina carefully, rolling her eyes at how her gummy smile morphed into a mischievous grin. “There’s absolutely no chance of you going easy on me is there?”

“If I went easy on you then I wouldn’t be being entertained.” Mina teased, already getting off her bed and moving over to her wardrobe, taking a Nintendo Switch out of it. “Come, sit.” She added, patting the spot next to her on the bed.

“Do you usually invite total strangers into your room to make them play Mario Kart with you?” Jihyo chuckled, perching carefully on the edge of Mina’s bed. “Or am I a special case?”

“My roommates don’t like to play with me anymore, so I’m forced to resort to strangers.” Mina answered casually, setting the Switch down on her bedside table, and smirking to herself. “And, we don’t have to be strangers. Why don’t you tell me something about yourself?”

“What do you want to know?”

“I don’t mind, just what you think I should know.”

“Okay, well my name is Park Jihyo, I’m 20 years old and a music major.” Jihyo started, pausing for thought as Mina watched her intently. “I have two younger sisters and a cat. Now you go.”

“Okay, my name is Myoui Mina, I was born in Texas but I’m Japanese, I’m also 20 years old and a dance major.” Mina listed simply, counting things off on her fingers as she stared off into space. “I have one older brother and a dog called Ray.”

“You’re a dance major? Do you know Minatozaki Sana?” Jihyo asked, taking the small controller that Mina handed to her.

“Yeah, she’s in my ballet class. Plus she’s friends with Momo, one of my roommates.” Mina answered, eyes now fixed to the small screen of her Nintendo Switch as she set up the game.

“You might be the only person in one of Sana’s dance classes that she hasn’t tried to set me up with.” Jihyo chuckled, dragging her gaze away from Mina’s side profile to watch the small screen in front of her. “She’s set me up with what feels like 30 people, Momo included.”

“Perhaps she doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.” Mina hummed, turning her head slightly to wink at Jihyo and grin.

“No way, it’s probably just that she doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.” Jihyo assured her, smirking slightly at the giggle Mina let out. “She usually sets me up with total weirdos… not including Momo obviously.”

“Obviously not.” Mina laughed, quickly choosing a course and watching the map load. “So, other than avoiding parties, what do you do for fun?”

“Me and my friends like to go to karaoke together, I like watching movies and I also kinda enjoy knitting as lame as that sounds.” Jihyo explained, squinting slightly to see the tiny screen a little bit better. “How about you?”

“I also like knitting, funnily enough, I do ballet and I’m thinking about going into it professionally as well.” Mina answered, a playful smirk toyed at the corners of her mouth. “And I also  _ really  _ like playing games on my Nintendo Switch, especially Mario Kart.”

“This really doesn’t bode well for me.” Jihyo sighed melodramatically. “Is there any chance of you going easy on me?”

“Maybe.” Mina clicked her tongue, eyes fixed on the screen as the countdown before the game began. “I’m far more likely to go easy on you the next time we play, though.”

“Next time? What makes you sure there’s going to be a next time?” Jihyo teased, quirking her eyebrow slightly yet her gaze remained transfixed on the game. 

“I don’t know, I just have this feeling.” Mina stated simply, her tone so cocky and self assured - it was far more attractive than it should’ve been. “Be interesting to see why Sana never thought to set us up.”

“Her never thinking to set us up is a testament to how terrible she is at matchmaking.” Jihyo pointed out, cursing under her breath when her character was struck with a barrage of red shells.

“You’ve known me, what, half an hour? And you’re already saying these things.” Mina giggled, Jihyo was incredibly grateful Mina was too focussed on their game to see her blush.

“Maybe you’re not the only one who ‘just has this feeling’.” Jihyo countered casually.

The way Mina laughed at her was like music to her ears, a truly magical sound she was already addicted to. Even when Mina was laughing  _ at  _ her because she’d been knocked off the course or had been red shelled, the sound was still beautiful enough that she forgot to care that she was losing. She’d completely tuned out the sound of the party, the one that was still very much in full swing and that she’d planned to leave nearly an hour ago, to the point she could no longer hear the music that was blasting or the loud shouting of drunk people.

Part of her wondered what Sana had gotten up to in her absence, worried that her friend may be looking for her under the assumption she’d gone to the bathroom. But then Mina bumped her shoulder lightly, drawing Jihyo’s attention to her 3rd consecutive win, and Jihyo forgot about everything else.

  
  
  


Jihyo lay on their sofa tiredly, she hadn’t gotten back until nearly 4am and hadn’t been able to sleep at all. She was trying to focus on whatever was playing on the TV, but she couldn’t take her eyes off her phone that was resting on the coffee table.

It really shouldn’t bother her so much that Mina hadn’t texted her yet, it’d been less than 6 hours since she even gave Mina her number and it was relatively safe to assume Mina was likely sleeping. And yet, that bubble of anxiety in her throat refused to go away. She just really wished she’d gotten Mina’s number as well, so she could text Mina herself and make this anxiety go away. Worrying that her nearly killing her kidneys just so she didn’t have to leave Mina’s company was all for nothing.

Her and Mina had gotten along near scarily well at the party, falling into conversation almost immediately; so Jihyo knew her worrying was irrational. Mina had assured her she’d text her in the morning, and it was still barely 9am.

The sound of Sana padding down the hallway dragged her out of her thoughts, Jihyo sitting up on the couch to watch Sana approach and smile warmly at her. It was exceedingly funny just how hungover Sana looked, her makeup haphazardly removed and her fake eyelashes still on - and if the hickeys painting her neck were anything to go by, Sana clearly had a good night too.

“Morning, sunshine.” Jihyo chirped loudly, giggling when Sana visibly winced at her loud voice. “Did you have a good night?”

“Fuck off, stop talking so loudly I’m so hungover.” Sana grumbled, slumping down in the armchair next to the sofa. “I can barely remember anything.”

“Well, your neck is  _ covered _ in marks so I think it’s a safe bet that you had fun.” Jihyo teased, leaning over to point at them.

“Shit, that’s never good.” Sana groaned, covering her neck with her hand in embarrassment. “What did you get up to by the way? You vanished at some point during the night and I didn’t see you again.”

Jihyo opened her mouth to answer, but her phone vibrating against the coffee table cut her off before she could. She picked it up quickly, but a quick glance at the message was enough the bring an excited smile to her face and butterflies to her stomach.

“I met someone.” Jihyo mumbled shyly, a blush dusting her cheeks.

  
  


(0XX-XXX-XXXX) [09:17am]

hi jihyo?

it’s mina!

text me back when you get this

i can’t wait to see you again

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading!  
Follow me on twitter @hasubongi  
I also have a Ko-Fi now as I've just started University, the link is in my twitter bio - please donate but only if you're able!  
Send me CC's, link in pinned, and check out my Mihyo social media AU (also in pinned) if you haven't already!  
Leave a comment and kudos if you enjoyed, I'd really appreciate it!  
Thank you, and see you again soon (hopefully)


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